How can I use Fruit of Spirit or 12 days of Christmas at a pastor appreciation service?
By Janie from Abingdon, VA
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Our theme was Thanks for Helping Us Grow. I bought foam flower shapes from a dollar store and glued a face photo of church congregation members on each. Then glued and taped shish kabob sticks to the back of each flower. Displayed them in vases.
Another theme was Feed the Sheep. I found a clip art body of a sheep and printed one for each congregation member. Then glued the face photos on each sheep. These were displayed on poster boards - one for women, one for men and one for children, with each person's name written on their sheep body. We always have a home cooked dinner and give gifts - usually money although we have a small church, so it's not a lot.
Please remember that not all pastors are "him". Most of these suggestions are geared toward male pastors. Ours is a lovely lady.
Thank you.
I believe, besides a monetary blessing, creating a presentation centered around how Pastor and First Lady embody the fruit of the Spirit would bless their hearts. For example, how they embody love.
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I know this is a little early for this question but I want to get a jump on it and know ahead of time. I was wondering if you all had some good ideas on what to do for a pastor and his wife for Pastor Appreciation which is in October? Any ideas will greatly appreciated. Thanks a bunch.
Teresa from VA
Especially with our economy the way it is now, even a pastor needs a monetary bonus and/or a recommendation for a raise. Celebrate this offering with a pot luck meal and thankful hugs, too :-) (08/11/2008)
By Deeli
(submitted via email)
I'm not sure that this will help you any. But I'm over special events at my church and Pastor Appreciation is one of my events. Last year we had a church parade inside. It was called Ministries on the move. Every ministry came up with their own themes and had signs that said "we love you", or "thank you", etc. Be Blessed.
Rikki (08/14/2008)
By Jess
(sent in by email)
You mentioned that you are over your church for Pastor Appreciation activity. Can you tell me when Pastor Appreciation Day is this year? I know it is some time in October, but can you tell me what day it is? We want to do something special for our Pastor this year. Thanks. Be Blessed.
Lynda
Editor's Note: October is Pastor Appreciation Month & Clergy Appreciation Day is the second Sunday in October (08/23/2008)
By ThriftyFun
I am the children's pastor as well as the pastor's daughter. One year I had all the kids make signs with words of affirmation for the pastor and his wife. We then attached the signs to forks and loaded up all the kids on the bus and went to the pastor's house and forked his yard. When he came home and his car lights shined on all the hot pink and lime green signs it was hilarious. Pastor and his wife both got out of the car and were reading the signs and they loved it. (08/26/2008)
By phyllis
We took our pastor and his wife on a scavenger hunt around town. They followed the clues to each place where we had church members dressed in funny costumes holding a clue! The clues led them back to the church for a dinner and a greeting card full of money. As a bonus, we took pictures of them at each place with the clue and made a scrapbook for them! (09/10/2008)
I am part of the student ministry team in my youth group. Last year for Pastor Appreciation Month, we bought a small journal with Bible verses already printed in it. We asked all of the youth to write a short note explaining why they were thankful for our youth pastor (we also promised it would not be read by anyone except our youth pastor). The notes could be as short as "Thank you for just being yourself", but many took up a page or two. Our youth pastor had no idea that we had planned anything, and just about cried when we presented the journal to him at the end of the month. The next day I received an e-mail from him saying that he was on a high all night, and that day because of all the nice things everyone said to him. (09/11/2008)
By Rachel
This year we plan to take a picture of our church and have it enlarged to 16"x20". We will have all the congregation write a brief message, or simply sign the matte and present it to our pastor. (09/17/2008)
By Carole
One year we wrote the song 12 days of Christmas, all about the Pastor and his wife. We let the children sing it. It was received with a standing ovation. (10/06/2008)
By Lucille C
I am in charge of pastor appreciation, and one year I got him gift certificates for restaurants around his work for 5 days of the week so he could have lunch out all week! I packed them in a brown lunch bag for presentation. We also give a monetary gift and something special for his wife. (10/24/2008)
By CM
I had to come up with something for the kids to give the Pastor. I wanted to do something fun, so we got a basket and then went out and bought a bunch of stuff that would be useful, but had double meaning. I then had the best reader in the class go up front and explain what each item in the basket was there for. As he mentioned an item, one of the kids would hold it up and place it in the empty basket the Pastor was holding. The church was hysterical laughing and the Pastor loved it.
Some Items included:
-A box of tissues for spiritual tears. (Our pastor cries a lot)
-Bengay: for the backache you'll get carrying the sheep.
-Mint mouth spray: So you'll always be a breath of fresh air
-Ginko Biloba: for memory so you won't forget your sermons
-Lint tape roller: Cause life can get Hairy!
By nancy
I was the chairman of our pastor's anniversary last year. We decorated the church like an island and sat them at a pub table. It was awesome. We had a candlelight ceremony. One of the youth told them what all this meant. Each candle light was a life that he or his wife had touched. (10/30/2008)
By alice
Hello, I appreciate all of the wonderful ideas. If you can do something special for your pastor, I'd encourage you to do so. I can say that the blessing I received was much more than I gave, in thank you's and laughter. I borrowed one idea from this site for my pastor and his family, and came up with a great idea for the assistant Pastor and his wife.
I confess, I made neon colored signs and "Forked" my pastor's yard. They loved it, and are still talking about it. I will never live the forking down, lol. For the assistant pastor and his wife, I purchased helium balloons. All star shaped and 1 smiley face balloon. I wrote in cards, "my pastor and his wife are...." and filled the blank with the things I appreciate about them.
I hung a note card from the bottom of every balloon and lined them up the sidewalk of their home (each balloon had a weight). The assistant Pastor and his wife said they enjoyed coming home to all of the balloons and reading all of the notes. Thanks again for all of the great ideas. Only By His Grace, Renee' (11/09/2008)
By Renee'
My father has been the pastor of our church for forty years now. Many churches don't supply a retirement and pastors receive low pay for their work. We decided after 38 years that he and my mother deserved some security for their golden years, so the church signed the parsonage over to them as long as they live, even after he retires. Should my father die first my mother will not have to worry about losing her home. This was such a blessing to them and as a daughter I was so happy to see them honored for so many years of service in a truly long lasting way. (12/22/2008)
By Judy R.
Ask members of your church to spend only $6. It works out better if you know just what brands the pastor and his family use within their home. Spend your $6 on household items: tissue, soap, toothpaste, paper towels, etc. I had such a great response from my church family when I suggested we do this for pastor and his family and our first lady was too proud. Hope you like this idea and god bless you as you seek to make provisions for your pastor. (02/16/2009)
By big98red
I need some ideas for the 12 Days of Christmas, that can be rewritten to celebrate Youth Pastor Day.
